


Behind the screen

by Nenko



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Insecurity, Phone Calls, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28114875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nenko/pseuds/Nenko
Summary: She will look at him from afar.She will listen to his voice.She will get to know him.But she won’t meet him. Ever.The screen keeps her safe.Let it be that way.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 19
Kudos: 102





	Behind the screen

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story written in English. It's not my native language and any possible mistakes are mine.  
> But I really hope you'll enjoy it :)

_“Weapons through the ages. Wanna go with me?”_

The text was bright on the screen of her phone. It came an hour ago and Brienne still hasn’t replied yet. Instead of typing a response, she was staring at it to the point that white letters were burning into her eyes.

She should reply. Brienne knew. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

 _Yes, I’d love to._ Her heart wanted to scream and her fingers yearned to type.

 _No, it’s not a good idea._ Her brain reminded her again and again. It was the only right answer. She shouldn’t forget who she was if she didn’t want to destroy what they already had.

 _“I’m quite busy…”_ Brienne started to type but stopped not knowing how to finish. It already sounded lame, didn’t it?

The truth was that she has run out of believable excuses. And he kept asking. Every time it was harder to come up with a valid argument why shouldn’t she simply give in. He already knew her. Maybe even better than anyone else. Would he mind that Brienne wasn’t a walking definition of beauty? Quite the opposite to be honest. Despite what everyone always said that it’s the internal beauty that matters, Brienne knew it was one of the biggest lies.

Her entire life was proof of it.

_Could this time be any different?_

She looked at the screen again.

They started from a heated argument on the „Knight of the Dawn” movie forum and then everything somehow turned into something… else. 

Just when Brienne thought she couldn’t despise the person hiding behind the Kingslayer avatar more, the message appeared in her private mailbox.

 _Of course, he was going to troll her. That kind of jerks never let go_ , she thought then. She was tired of him mocking her views of honour and loyalty. Brienne was one click away from blocking this obnoxious _dude_ together with his cynical beliefs and arrogant attitude when something snapped inside her. She wasn’t going to let him win that easily. She could stand her ground and fight for her convictions.

After a few days, their messages digressed more and more from the movie and swiftly moved to general topics. To her immense surprise, Brienne started to look forward to their conversations. It didn’t mean Jaime stopped to be overconfident and annoying. It seemed that vexing her was pure enjoyment for him. But Brienne didn’t stay behind. She hadn’t even noticed when their bickering started to elicit more smiles than eye rolls and huffs of annoyance.

One day they accidentally discovered that they attended the same school. What were the odds that two random people meeting on a movie forum were living in the same kingdom of Westeros? Same city? And apparently, they were attending the same school.

This discovery resulted in completely opposite reactions. While Jaime was all excited, Brienne’s blood ran cold. Because in her school there was only one person named Jaime, who perfectly fitted everything she came to know about her online friend Jaime. The little research she did, only confirmed her suspicion.

Jaime Lannister. Golden boy. With golden locks, shining green eyes, and cutting smiles. The most beautiful human being Brienne ever saw. 

And she was the ugliest girl in school. And probably in the city. If not in the whole Westeros.

The irony of them was striking, but it didn’t stop them from exchanging messages and becoming… 

Brienne wasn’t sure what words should be used to describe what was between them.

And she didn’t know how she should refuse him without making him feel rejected. _Again_.

As much as she wanted to agree, Brienne just couldn’t do it. It would be better if he didn’t see her. Brienne could easily imagine their first meeting. He would cast one glance at her and he would leave. Or worse. She would see a clear disappointment on his face. And maybe disgust with the fact that he wasted so much time on someone as ugly and grotesque as her.

It wasn’t something she could bear. It was better the way it was. Safer. This way Brienne could allow herself to imagine that Jaime might like her. As pathetic as it was, but her heart kept cherishing this tiny hope, that one day his feelings could be something more than just friendship.

That sounded ridiculous, Brienne knew. But she just couldn’t help herself.

A sudden sound interrupted her musings. After a few seconds, Brienne managed to localize its source. She wasn’t used to hearing her own ringtone. 

Her eyes locked on her phone and Brienne froze. Jaime’s face was smiling at her from the screen. He had never called her before. They always stuck to text messages.

The phone kept ringing. Brienne’s heart was beating faster than after her morning jogging routine.

Maybe she should just ignore it and pretend it never happened?

 _But Jaime was calling her_. And as much as she was afraid to pick up, Brienne was also curious. What would he say? What was the sound of his voice? Deep, tender, low, soft?

Brienne reached for her phone with a trembling hand. She swiped a green button just before the phone stopped to ring.

“Finally,” the voice on the other side sounded quite annoyed. Not at all as she has imagined it many times before. “Took you long enough.”

Brienne bit her lip. She didn’t know what to say. She has never been quick with words and that’s why she always preferred written messages over phone calls. 

“Have I turned you speechless?” Jaime said again with quite evident satisfaction in his voice. “I know you are there. I can hear your breathing. And I hoped I’d get something more than your silence. Where are your witty quips?”

 _Gods, he’s even more insufferable on the phone_. Brienne took a deep breath.

“I… I didn’t expect your call,” she said mentally slapping herself for not coming up with something better to say.

On the other side, she could hear a little chuckle.

“Oh, so you do have a voice. How surprising.”

“Why did you call me?” she asked.

“I was bored,” came a flippant reply. _Of course, he was. Did she really think it could be something else than a little distraction?_

“And you ignored my text. I thought maybe the call will finally grab your attention. So?”

“So you got it. What do you want now?” Brienne wasn’t sure why she became so irritated all of a sudden. He didn’t say anything to deserve such a harsh tone. Yet.

“Hey, you don’t need to be that rude. It makes you sound like an angry nasty wench.”

“I’m not a wench! My name is B…” Brienne stopped abruptly. She almost forgot. Usually, it was easier to remember. Especially when she wasn’t so distracted by his voice.

“I remember your name,” Jaime replied in a light tone. “However, you won’t probably believe me, but I did my research and I have all the reasons to think that you might have lied to me, haven’t you… Riye?”

Brienne closed her eyes. Back then she didn’t think it would matter that she called herself a different name to the vexing internet stranger. She even preferred it that way. And when the same school discovery was made, for the first time, Brienne was really happy she didn’t give him her real name. Because there was only one Brienne to be found in their school. Her.

“N-no, I haven’t lied. Why would I?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t” Jaime snorted. “Deception and lies are far beneath you just as your favourite Blue Knight.”

Well, he was kind of right. Brienne hated lying and it pained her that she had to do it. But it would pain more if he found out who she _really_ was and decided she was not worth his time.

“I hate to break it to you,” Jaime continued in an amused voice, “but you are a shit liar. Even on the phone, I could hear your face getting red.”

Involuntarily Brienne looked around her room and raised her hand to her cheek. She was hot indeed and not only for the reason Jaime guessed. But it was better if he didn’t know it.

“You can assume whatever you want,” Brienne tried to sound unaffected, but even in her own ears it didn’t sound very convincing, “but I am done with this topic, and if you don’t have anything else to say I can just simply hang up.”

She heard a deep sigh in response.

“Fine, don’t be so sensitive about this. I was merely teasing you. But still, I’d like to hear an answer to my question.”

“What question?”

“The one I keep asking and you keep avoiding.”

Oh. _That_ one. Now, there was no way out of this, wasn’t it? Brienne bit her lip trying to come up with a reasonable response.

“If you don’t want to see me, it’s fine,” Jaime said after a few moments of silence. “You know you can just say so. I promise not to get offended.”

“No, Jaime, it’s not that… It’s just…” oh gods, why was it so difficult to say? Brienne took a deep breath. “It’s _you_ who don’t want to see me.”

Her words seemed to confuse him. After a pause Jaime said:

“This is quite a peculiar statement given the fact that it’s always _me_ who asks _you_. Care to explain it?”

“You don’t want to see me,” she said as if repetition of the same words was a sufficient explanation. “I just know it.”

“How so? How can you possibly know that?”

 _I looked into the mirror today_.

“Just for once believe me, Jaime,” she exclaimed in an awfully squeaky voice.

Brienne was met with a deep heavy silence.

 _That’s it. He won’t talk to me anymore._ Brienne has always known it will happen one day. It was always that way with her. Regardless if it was real or online, Brienne Tarth didn’t fit either way. In reality, people couldn’t get past her looks as if this was the only thing that defined her. But in the virtual world, it was her awkward personality that was preventing her from finding a place among other people.

She was boring and dull. Brienne has learned that lesson a few years ago. She was in her early teen years when she got hooked on this kind of stupid TV series with sorcerers and dragons. Brienne started to observe blogs dedicated to it, then created her own filled with fanvids and gifs made by her, which surprisingly became quite popular in the fandom. After a while, she was confident enough to interact with other fans. They always seemed to be very open and friendly. It was for the very first time when Brienne felt that she had belonged somewhere, where people appreciated who she was.

So naturally, she was excited about the prospect of a real meeting with them. They already knew her and liked her. Why would they care about the way she looked? The meeting became a big deal in the fandom and Brienne, young, enthusiastic, and eager, did everything she could to help with the organization of the event. However, a few days before she was informed by her father that she is forbidden to go. No pleas and arguments could sway Selwyn and eventually, Brienne had no other choice than to accept that. Her new friends were as devastated as she was when they learned about her absence.

Two days after the event took place a video was released where all people who were lucky to attend, sent their greeting to everyone who couldn’t be there. Brienne still remembered the excitement about the part where their names were announced and people were cheering and sending their love and regards. She was waiting for her name to be mentioned, but it never came.

They just forgot about her in the end. No one cared she wasn’t there. _It was fine_ , Brienne tried to tell herself, _no one could remember everything and everyone_. It was a silly thing to get upset about, she knew it now, but still, it hurt her deeply back then. It appeared she wasn’t worth even a stupid mention from people she considered her friends…

Brienne blinked. The memory still had a bitter taste in her mouth, but in a way, it prepared her for the inevitable truth. _People won’t care about her and eventually, they will leave._

And Jaime will be among them.

“Are you still here?” he asked, his voice soft all of a sudden.

Brienne nodded.

“Riye?”

“Yes,” she managed to say, reminded that he couldn’t see her. “I’m still here.”

“Good,” Jaime said, returning to his light tone. “So now when we know that you won’t hang up, we could actually talk some more.”

“Well, we could. But don’t be so sure that I won’t end up the call the moment you get too annoying.”

The sound of Jaime’s laugh made Brienne smile.

“Oh, come on. You like me too much to do it.”

“Is this a challenge?”

Jaime made a content sound.

“Well, I won’t lie. I have several ideas about challenging you, but this isn’t one of them.” Jaime’s voice sounded lower than usual. Or was it just her imagination? Whatever it was, it made Brienne's insides pleasantly shudder. “If I won a challenge against you, what would be my prize?”

“As if you could,” Brienne huffed trying to make herself more comfortable on her bed. “Just don’t get overconfident. Then you’re more insufferable than usual.”

“That’s when you like me the most,” Jaime laughed in response. “You didn’t even deny it the first time.”

“Well, I wasn’t aware I had to be bothered by saying such an obvious thing.”

“You wound me, sweetling. Who could think that such a righteous person could be so cruel?”

Words stilled on Brienne’s tongue. Never in her life has anyone called her sweetling.

“Don’t call me _that,_ ” she said, trying to sound indignant and thanking all the gods that Jaime couldn’t see her hot reddened face.

“Sweetling? Why not?” he asked with an innocent voice.

_Because you don’t mean it and I could get used to it._

“Just don’t. I don’t like it,” was the only answer she could give him.

“Fine, as you wish. You’re too prickly to be one, anyway.”

_I’m too ugly to be one._

“However,” Jaime continued, “if you don’t like this one, I could think of something else for you. Actually, I already have cool nicknames in mind…”

They talked until late at night. After they finally hung up, Brienne readied herself to bed, but she found little sleep that night. All her thoughts were occupied by him. It didn’t make any sense. They were just online friends, who happened to talk to each other. But still, Brienne couldn’t help the pleasant warm feeling inside her chest every time she remembered the deep sound of his voice and genuine laugh.

Brienne needed to be more careful. She shouldn’t allow him to get any closer. _Stop it or you’ll get hurt_ , she had to remind herself every day, but it didn’t prevent her from replying to every message from him and picking up the phone every time he called.

That was reckless, that was stupid, that was irresponsible, but Brienne couldn’t do anything with herself. That was her greatest weakness. For those scraps of affection, she was ready to suffer eventual heartbreak, which she knew was inevitable.

But she’ll survive it. It had happened before. And will happen in the future, she was sure of it. There was no other way for people like her. That was the truth and it was better to accept it.

But it was so easy to forget about it with Jaime.

Since their first phone conversation, texts just weren’t enough. They still sent them, mainly during the day, when none of them had an opportunity to talk. But the evenings were solely filled with phone calls.

Jaime was easy to talk to and fun. No one had ever made her laugh and blush so hard and so often. Yes, he could be vexing and annoying sometimes, but it wasn’t even close to the arrogant asshole described by other people she knew from the school.

Brienne saw him there sometimes. Every time she could see him from afar, her heart started racing in her chest. When he was passing near her, Brienne would keep her head down, only allowing herself to catch tiny glimpses of his beautiful face and golden hair.

This was the closest she could ever get because someone like him would never look in her direction. Jaime was beautiful and he was always surrounded by beautiful people. And she was more than aware that she would never fit into his world.

But what struck Brienne one day was the expression on Jaime’s face. He seemed to be laughing, Brienne was close enough to catch it, but it wasn’t the same laugh she heard so often. This one was colder and there was a cutting edge to it. But his eyes… there was sadness in them and something else, Brienne couldn’t name.

When he called this evening, Brienne tried to be gentle and discretely ask if something was wrong, but Jaime turned to be dismissive of her concerns and insisted everything was fine.

“Sometimes I wish you were here,” Jaime said suddenly. It was the first time he mentioned a real meeting since they started to have regular phone calls. “Like for real. But for some unfathomable reason, you don’t want to see me.”

Brienne felt the panic settling in her chest. She was afraid of this conversation.

“I know what everyone is saying about me in school. Do you also think I’m that bad?”

“No, Jaime. Of course, I don't think so.” _You’re wonderful._

“Really?” Jaime snorted. “You always try to avoid talking about anything that could help me to find you. You always steer away from when the conversation goes close meeting you in person. Hells, you even gave me your fake name. Don’t even try to deny it. I’m not as stupid as you think I am and my sister never fails to remind me. If it’s not me that keeps you away, then what are you hiding from me?”

 _Myself_ would be an honest answer, but Brienne couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“I don’t hi…” she started dismissively, but Jaime didn’t let her finish.

“Don’t lie to me! I’m done with all lies around me. I can’t take it from you!” 

The silence was heavy and filled with tension.

Brienne didn’t know what to say. Every Jaime’s word was true. She was hiding herself and she was lying. To keep her safe. But even given a reason, they were lies all the same. Brienne just didn’t think Jaime would care about it. But apparently, for some incomprehensible reason, it bothered Jaime as much as it hurt her.

“I’m sorry” he muttered after a while. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice.”

“It’s ok. I… I understand your points.”

“Do you?” there was undeniable irony in his voice. Brienne shuddered.

“Yes.”

“Then why? Explain it to me. Because what I see now is you making a pathetic fool of me.”

“Jaime, how could I?” Now Brienne was genuinely confused. It was not in her power to do so, even if she wanted to. It was he who could destroy her with mere words, just with one look.

Jaime’s laugh was bitter.

“Are you serious now? I was nothing but sincere from the very beginning. Even when I behaved like an asshole, I was true. But it can’t be said about you. You’re lying to me, you have never texted me, you have never called me. It was always me who was begging for your attention, which you have always given me. But I can’t get rid of the impression that I’m throwing myself on you when you don’t want me to. Like you don’t care.”

“That’s not true.” _I care for you more than you’d ever know._

“And what is the truth? If you don’t want me around, just say it. If you’re worried that I’ll keep bothering you or something or that I’ll get hurt, then don’t. Because I won’t.”

_Of course, you won’t._

But deep down Brienne knew it wasn’t true. Jaime was being honest, she could hear it in his voice. And it broke her heart she couldn’t reciprocate this. If he really knew _who_ he was talking to, there were no doubts he would leave. 

_But now he’ll leave anyway._

“Jaime, I won’t say it, because it is not what I want. Unless it’s you who…”

Brienne couldn’t find the strength to finish. 

“Me?” Jaime sounded incredulous. “I knew you were thickheaded, but this is just the whole new level. Haven’t you heard anything I said? I don’t want to end this.”

Brienne swallowed the thick lump which was forming in her throat.

“I don’t want it either,” she whispered. 

She could hear Jaime let out a deep breath. 

“But you won’t tell me your name. And you won’t see me,” he said after a while. 

Brienne _wanted_ to. She wanted to be close to him, she wanted to hear _her_ name on his lips, she wanted to look in his eyes and hold his hand. 

But he wouldn’t want anything of it if he knew it was her and Brienne couldn’t bear the image of disgust so clearly written on his beautiful face.

“I can’t, Jaime. I just can’t.”

She was met with dead silence.

“I hoped one day you could learn to trust me. But clearly, I was mistaken. Goodnight Riye or whoever you are,” Jaime said and not waiting for her response, hung up the call leaving her with nothing but a deep and cutting silence.

He didn’t text her the next day.

He didn’t call her either.

It was over.

Jaime was gone. 

Days have passed and never before Brienne felt so alone. 

Never having friends, she thought she was used to it. But this time it felt different. The loneliness before Jaime was nothing compared to the complete emptiness left after him.

Brienne sighed.

She was lying on her bed, an open book beside her, but Brienne couldn’t focus on words. No matter how she tried to occupy her free time, her thoughts were able to run in only one direction.

Everything that happened weighed on her chest and Brienne didn’t know how to lessen that burden. In movies or books she has read, the main character always had a best friend with whom they could share all their troubles. 

Maybe she could try to talk to her father, but Brienne dismissed this idea very quickly. Father wouldn’t understand. The only advice he ever gave was to not care much about the others and to do your thing. It wasn’t very helpful if Brienne was being honest. Besides, her father rarely was there. He was too busy with a new girlfriend, whose name Brienne didn’t even remember.

 _She used to have Jaime,_ whispered a tiny voice in her head.

And now she had his silence and rare glimpses in his direction whenever their paths crossed. He didn’t look good, Brienne had to admit to herself a week after their break up. _No, we were never together to have one,_ she had to remind herself, but for some reason, it felt exactly like Brienne imagined it would feel.

Sometimes she found herself in her room with a phone in hand. She wanted to call him so badly, but something always kept her from doing so. _He probably won’t welcome my call,_ she tried to convince herself, but deep down she knew it was just her trying to find an excuse. 

A week has passed.

And another.

Everything seemed to go back to normal.

Just as it always had been.

Then one evening her phone rang.

Brienne didn’t have to check to know who it was. She barely received any other calls.

With a shaking hand and racing heart, she reached for her mobile.

_Jaime._

Trying to calm herself, Brienne picked up.

There was silence on the other side. She could only hear deep breathing.

 _Say something,_ she ordered herself, but her tongue felt like a useless piece of thick dry cloth.

“Are you here?” Jaime finally said after a long and tense moment.

“Yes,” Brienne replied in a small voice. It was such a relief to finally be able to hear him.

“Gods, it’s really you,” Jaime let out a sigh. “I missed you so goddamn much.”

 _I missed you too,_ she Brienne wanted to say, but those words stuck in her mouth.

“Ok,” she said instead, hating herself for how lamely it had sounded. She added quickly, “it’s good to hear from you. How are you?”

“Fucking awesome,” she heard his raspy voice.

“You don’t sound like that.”

Despite not hearing him for such a long time, Brienne without any doubt could tell that Jaime was upset. _Could it be because of me?_

“Like you fucking care.”

Brienne did and his accusation stung her deep with its unfairness.

“I don’t know why I bother. I shouldn’t have called,” he said before she could muster any response.

And he was gone.

Brienne couldn’t sleep that night. She woke up much later than she was supposed to. As fast as she could, Brienne collected her stuff and put her clothes on. After washing her face and combing her thin hair, she was ready.

Not bothering to eat any breakfast, Brienne left her home. She was already late, but she still could manage to arrive for the last twenty minutes of her math class. She started to run down the streets.

Sweaty and heavy breathing she finally reached the school building. Turning into the last corridor she ran into another figure. The force of an impact sent Brienne a few steps back and the unexpectedness of the collision made her drop her bag.

“Didn’t know mountains can move.”

Brienne froze. She knew that voice. She would recognize him anywhere.

Slowly, she turned her head toward him. Sharp green eyes were cutting through her like daggers.

Brienne has never been so close to him and only now she _really_ noticed how miserably Jaime looked. His face was pale with the dark circles under his eyes. His golden locks unkempt and she could see the traces of stubble on his jaw.

At that moment Brienne wanted nothing more than to hug him. To give him whatever comfort she could.

But she couldn’t do it. Here, in this world, they were just strangers.

_And we didn’t have to be._

Jaime’s eyes studied her. Brienne felt her face getting hot under his gaze.

“You’re a great beast of a woman. You should be more concerned about your surroundings before you go through the corridors like a freaking war tank.”

Brienne dropped her head. _She was right all along._

He was handsome Jaime Lannister and she was Brienne, the beast of a woman.

Not sparing him another glance, Brienne swiftly moved past him.

“Hey, you,” she heard his voice behind, which made her quicken her steps. “Wench, wait. You forgot your bag.”

Brienne stopped. In her desperate escape from him, her bag was the last thing she had in mind. Reluctantly, she turned to face him. Jaime had already picked her bag and now he was handing it to her. She went to him to retrieve it. Putting her hands on the item, she tried not to notice the slightest brush of their fingers

With a curt nod, which she hoped would be enough to express her gratitude, Brienne tried to take the bag from his hand only to discover that Jaime tightened his grip on it.

Brienne looked upon his face and saw that famous cutting smile.

“Have you lost your voice because of the impact? Or your manners?”

Brienne pulled her bag stronger, but it wasn’t enough to get it back from his grip.

“Oh, you want to play it hard?” the smirk on Jaime’s face widened. “Fine with me.”

Brienne bit her lower lip. She was determined to get it back and go. She didn’t want to waste time on his stupid games. Without a word, they engaged in a wordless fight interrupted by Jaime’s chuckle and her huffs of irritation.

“You know, I’ll consider giving it back immediately if you ask me nicely.”

Brienne pulled stronger.

“But you’re just stubborn, aren’t you?” Jaime continued with clear amusement in his voice. “Pray tell, what are you trying to prove?”

Brienne clenched her jaw in response. She couldn’t let him win. If she let herself be goaded by his remarks, then _he’d know_. And this was something she couldn't let happen.

“If it’s not the strength you want to show off, then I don’t know what else it could be.”

The poor bag made a ripping sound. It was one of the few things left after her mother.

“Just stop it, Jaime,” Brienne cried. “Now it’s my bag you’re determined to destroy?”

He let go the moment the words left her mouth. Brienne’s blood turned into ice.

Somehow she found the courage to look at him. Jaime’s eyes were looking at her as if he saw her for the very first time in his life.

Not waiting for his reaction, Brienne turned on her heel and ran away.

 _He knows,_ was the last thought before she turned into another passage.

Jaime didn’t follow.

The rest of the day Brienne spent in the nearby park. It was the first time in her life when she skipped her classes. She had never allowed it herself before.

Brienne sighed as she reached an old bench surrounded by old trees covered in ivy. This was the deepest part of the park. The rays of the sun could not reach through the thick crowns of high trees. Brienne always liked to be here. It was dark and mysterious, like a place from a fairytale. 

Brienne tried to even her breathing. She usually felt at peace in this place, but not today. The memories of this morning and previous evening occupied her mind and made her face red from embarrassment. 

Now Jaime knew, Brienne was certain of it. She had no idea how she'd face him after that. Will he tell everyone? Will he make a great joke of it? Will she become a laughing stock again?

Luckily it was Friday. She just hoped the news of it would fade during the weekend. 

The next two days Brienne spent mainly in her room.

 _Everything is fine_ , she tried to convince herself.

In a few days, everything will be back to normal. Like nothing happened. 

Far too often she caught herself looking at her phone. 

Brienne didn’t expect it to ring, but for some reason, she could not tear herself away from it.

There was only one thing she could do.

After two days of doubts and a constant change of mind, Brienne found herself on her bed with a mobile in her sweaty hand. 

Her heart was racing, but she had already made a decision.

Taking a deep breath Brienne tapped a green button and pressed the phone tighter to her ear.

A monotonous beep appeared online. Brienne held her breath. 

It seemed a million years had passed before she heard a voice on the other side. 

It wasn't Jaime's warm deep tone. This one was cold, lifeless, mechanical.

"The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please, try later."

Brienne's heart sank. It should have been expected, but somehow it wasn't. 

_She was too late_. Anything she wanted to say didn't matter anymore.

*

The next Monday she appeared at school just before the first bell and went directly into the classroom taking her usual seat in the back. 

To Brienne’s great surprise nobody paid any attention to her. Everything was as usual.

Yet she decided not to tempt fate and stay away from places, where there was a possibility to meet him.

She wasn’t ready to see him again. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to. It was still too painful to remember. 

For the next few days during the breaks, Brienne found herself in the library. It wasn't a very popular place, only for geeks and no-lifes. _People like her_. 

Brienne was walking between the shelves heavily loaded with various books. She quickly found her favourite one. It was a story about a girl who struggled to find her place in the world, but after a bunch of adventures and obstacles to overcome, she managed to find happiness in life. As silly as it was, Brienne liked the hopeful feeling that appeared somewhere deep in her chest every time she reached the ending. Holding the book tightly in her hand Brienne found a free table. She put her stuff on it and sat down. Skipping through worn-out pages, she quickly found her favourite scene. She was in the middle of reading when suddenly her phone vibrated. 

She glanced at the screen and froze. 

_Jaime._

Brienne felt panic rose in her chest. Was it kind of a joke?

Brienne raised her head to look around. Space seemed to be clear but then she saw _him_.

He was standing between two shelves with a mobile phone in his hand. There was no smile on his face. On the contrary, his expression was serious and guarded. So unlike his usual cutting smirk.

Jaime was looking directly at Brienne. Their eyes locked together.

She couldn’t look away. 

As her phone continued to make traitorous sounds, Brienne prayed for every god she knew to make it stop. Or to swallow her underground.

It felt like an eternity before vibrations stopped, but the silence that fell afterward felt even worse.

Jaime tapped something on his phone. 

After a few seconds, the message appeared on her screen.

_“Well met, Brienne”._

She returned her gaze to him to discover that Jaime moved toward her table. 

Before she could say anything, he was already sitting beside her. There was a sly smile written on his face. 

Brienne felt her cheeks burning.

Jaime was here. He was looking _at her_ and he was still here.

“Brienne,” he said her name like he was tasting it on his lips. “Weapons through ages. Today’s the last day. Would you still like to go there with me?”

His voice was tender and sincere. His eyes were shining and warm.

They needed to talk.

But they will have time for that.

_Later._

Because now there was only one answer Brienne could give. 

The answer she yearned to give for so long.

“Yes, I’d love to,” she said, suddenly discovering she didn’t need any screen to keep her safely away from him.


End file.
